Luncheon Report
Denise Boland introduced the guest speaker: Honorable Jackie O ́Halloran, Ambassador of Ireland to Argentina and the Southern Cone.
Topic: “Women in Diplomacy”
The Ambassador began with a series of examples of women in history who served in the capacity
of diplomats, with or without the title of such. Some examples were Eleanor of Aquitaine, Lucrezia Borgia and Eleanor Roosevelt. Ambassador O ́Halloran proceeded to expand on her role as ambassador vis à vis the male-dominated world of diplomacy. She herself began at the middle management level and did not seem to be able to progress. Women were not promoted as much as men were, even less so women who were married with children. Eventually, this gender discrepancy was noted, and measures began to be taken to offer more opportunities for women diplomats. Several instances of lack of sensitivity to women diplomats were noted. Nevertheless, the number of women diplomats is growing, as is their influence. As she concluded, she mentioned the 2017 Committee Against the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. She spearheaded the all-female Irish delegation to the conference which adopted the treaty on the prohibition of proliferation of nuclear weapons. In sum, the presentation underscored the importance of good gender balance in diplomacy world-wide.
After a series of questions and answers, President Mariel Birnbaumer presented the speaker with a gift as a token of the Club’s gratitude and closed the meeting promptly at 2:30 pm.
Gwendolyn Diaz Ridgeway, Secretary
Luncheon Announcement
Our March speaker will be Ireland’s Ambassador to Argentina, Jackie O'Halloran, whose appointment follows the retirement of Ambassador Justin Harman. Ambassador O’Halloran has also been accredit- ed to Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The Embassy in Argentina also has consular responsibilities in Ecuador.
As a representative of her country Ambassador O'Halloran has actively supported the Non- proliferation Treaty (NPT) and in April 2018 was the keynote speaker for the annual meeting of Arms Control Association. The purpose of the NPT is to eliminate the possession of nuclear arms, to control the development of nuclear arms and to educate about the effects of the use of nuclear arms on the planet. Many states throughout the world have signed the treaty but there are still those who have not done so. In fact the stockpiling of nuclear weapons by those states who have nuclear arms increased in recent times. In her position as a representative of Ireland Jackie has taken a strong position work- ing to raise awareness about the risks and consequences of nuclear weapons and educate others to- wards the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.